Connecting with the community during COVID-19

By: Emily Reed, Community Services Intern

Finding ways to stay engaged in our community and continue work towards a better Oakland is more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our approach to communication and involvement with the neighborhood. The challenges of respecting social distancing and working remotely has required us to change the ways we are connecting when in-person engagement is not an option. We have been doing our best to find creative ways to continue sharing resources, providing services, and interacting within the community and to cultivate a sense of togetherness.

A great way to facilitate real time, face-to-face conversations from afar is expanding knowledge of virtual outreach. Using the video conferencing service Zoom has allowed us to maintain some normalcy in discussions, even though it does not replace the feeling of an in-person meeting. We stay connected with neighbors through social media, web updates, and e-mail outreach.

Internet-based outreach does have limitations, especially for reaching those without regular access, and we want to make sure we are able to engage with everyone in the neighborhood. We make and respond to phone calls and mail newsletters to residents. Later this summer when you’re walking around your neighborhood you may see one of OPDC’s forthcoming bulletin boards. These place-based information boards are timeless and an easily accessible way to stay up to date on the latest neighborhood news and provide opportunities for community members to give feedback through polls, discussions, and activities located on the bulletin boards.

Although, COVID-19 has certainly changed our interactions with the community, it has allowed us to develop some promising opportunities for improving and expanding relationships between OPDC and the neighborhood as we work to keep community together even when we are apart.

As always, please reach out to Community Services Director, Andrea  Boykowycz, at 412.621.3821 x17 or aboykowycz@opdc.org if you have any questions or need assistance.

Catching Up with...DaVonn Brown - S2C Class of 2015

by Kathleen Radock, Communications and Development Manager

Photo credit: Ken Stewart

With many School to Career students spending their full four years of high school with us, we love to check in with them to see where they’ve landed, post-graduation.

We recently caught up with DaVonn Brown, who graciously took the time to reflect back on his time with S2C and offer advice to current and future students.

A 2015 S2C grad and 2019 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, DaVonn resides in his hometown, Lawrenceville. He started School to Career in the summer before 9th grade.

What are your memories of your time attending School to Career?

I loved my time with School to Career! I remember hours spent talking with Mrs. Karla, Ms. Bea, and Ms. Lavel about various topics. They truly cared for their students and that is something that is unforgettable about S2C. I remember spending hours at the various placements I received. My fondest memory of placement was my time spent at Pittsburgh Community Television 21 (PCTV21). I have always been interested in TV, theater, entertainment, and the way that people consume visual and performative art. Not only that, but the team there is great, and everybody has a lot of fun while getting the job done. 

I can say the same thing about S2C! There was never a dull moment. I love knowledge so I rarely get bored when learning, even back then as a high schooler. I gained a lot of incredible memories, and experiences, from the people I met through this program.

Honestly, I feel blessed to have been able to garner so much experience and opportunity as a mere high school student! In college, I met many people that had yet to write a professional resume. I remember one of the very first things I did as an S2C student was learning to write a resume, I had started the program late, but Mrs. Karla was kind enough to work with me and the first day I started Ms. Lavel was leading a course on resume writing, which has helped my professional life invaluably over the years. 

What was your favorite S2C activity?

I enjoyed all of my time with S2C. I would say that the job placements were my favorite activity. When working at PCTV I was able to talk with community members and work with them to achieve their vision, get their message out, or help them truly express themselves through the medium of television. It's a great feeling to bring people's dreams to life. While working at PCTV I helped set up lighting on set, managed the audio levels, worked the cameras, and some minor video editing. I would love to one day be involved in a large scale "AAA Film" production, or just something that exciting!

Thanks to S2C, I was able to explore this part of myself and realize that television/film production was a true interest of mine. I will say that I also loved being able to earn various Microsoft certifications under Ms. Lavel's tutelage. This also goes into why I enjoyed job placements so much; S2C offered me a way to gain valuable, life-changing experiences that give students tangible skills in the real world, and useful credentials on paper. I would not be who I am today without this program - I love everything about my time there!

Tell us about your current job…

I am proud to say that I am currently working as the Legislative Assistant for the City of Pittsburgh’s 8th City Council District. In this role, I help residents solve issues they are having that impact their daily lives. For example, I have provided assistance to constituents suffering from identity theft, loud neighbors, and even pesky rodent infestations to name a few.

I also work on both compiling research/evidence for legislation, and drafting said legislation as well as other official documentation. I help to share important information on social media, monitor constituent requests that may appear on various platforms, manage our website, attend community meetings, and travel to parts of the district to meet in-person with residents to provide assistance.

It is an honor to serve the people of this city. I am humbled, blessed, and overjoyed to work for the people of the City of Pittsburgh, my city, my people. I have always been driven to help people, and make our world better, so to be able to do this locally through my work is a great feeling!

How do you think S2C helped you with school and career?

S2C prepared me for the professional world. This goes hand in hand with schooling. If I ever needed help with any kind of school work, I could always depend on S2C's capable volunteers to work with me through anything. I think that's a very important resource for children -- knowing that someone is there to support you whether educationally or otherwise. S2C supported me educationally, financially, emotionally, and experientially - all of which helped shape me professionally.

Through the experiences, I gained from job placements like working at a TV station or a corporate risk management office, training to hone my online software skills, or working to deepen my understanding of the English language and sharpen my writing skills, I grew as a professional person. But I think equally important, if not greater, were the skills that Ms. Karla, Ms. Bea, and Ms. Lavel taught me about being a person.

When you enter any program as a young person there are all sorts of reservations, fantasies that you make up: "Oh this might be boring, the people may not be nice." Through all of my interactions with S2C staff, I experienced kindness, care, devotion, and love. They truly cared about all of us and on top of that provided us with opportunities that molded us as students and professionals. I think that whether dealing with one's career or one's schooling being a decent and caring person is as valuable if not more important than "professional development" as we think of it.

In reality, S2C's assistance with my school work, online certifications, job placements, and treating me like a loved and respected family member all helped me with my schooling, my career, and my development as both a professional and a human. S2C offers our youth opportunities to develop their character. That is truly invaluable!

What would be your top piece of advice to current students?

I urge all students to take their time with S2C seriously. Even if you don't think something is 100% relevant, please embrace your time with it as much as possible. You never know what will end up being a useful experience. Looking back on it just about everything I thought would not be useful has helped me even today! All experiences are valuable so treat your time at S2C with respect, eagerness, and excitement because I guarantee you that there is something wonderful that S2C can offer you that will make you ecstatic each time you enter the walls of S2C. I hope students genuinely look for the ways that S2C can help them achieve their goals. I know everyone at S2C is dedicated to turning dreams into reality; as a student you just have to open your ears, heart, and mind to receive the blessing that is S2C's many transformative offerings. 

S2C is a family. You will feel cared for and attended to, and will always have an advocate in your corner that wants what is best for you even more than you want it for yourself. I love S2C and will always feel a special place in my heart for S2C and all staff before and after my time with the program. If you want to better yourself, gain life changing experiences, and even better conversation with future lifelong friends, S2C is the afterschool program for you! 

To Parents - if you are wondering whether or not S2C is a place for your children, I'd like to say that it is THE place for your children. Not only will your future beacons of change earn great experiences, but they will also be able to earn a stipend to help them with their personal expenses. 

S2C will help make your world better so that you can make this world the most incredible planet it can be!

Thanks so much to DaVonn for the taking the time to talk with us, and for all of the thought and care he put into his answers. For more information on the School 2 Career program, click here.

OPDC's Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

OPDC stands in solidarity against racism, discrimination, and the violence – physical, psychological, economic and social – that has been perpetrated against Black Americans. We are committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity, and we oppose discrimination or harassment of any kind.  

Over the past 40 years, we have built more than 340 units of affordable housing in Oakland and continue affordable housing work both for sale and for rent. We embrace fair housing and view our housing work as a response to historic systemic oppression by helping Black families build wealth and stability. OPDC celebrates the legacy of Black residents who developed programs like JobLinks, now our Financial Opportunity Center, and School 2 Career.  They have helped thousands of people find employment, repair credit, build wealth, and connect with social services and provided hundreds of under resourced high school students the support they need to excel academically and professionally. OPDC’s mission is to build a better Oakland and help neighbors thrive.  Our vision is a community where a diverse mix of residents and visitors flourish. We can do more to ensure that our programs serve all members of our community, and we can do better to get diverse input.

OPDC has formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee comprised of board members and staff. We commit to an organizational overhaul to impact at least these areas: 1) staff diversity/organizational culture; 2) board and committee diversity and leadership development; and 3) community outreach/engagement/programming to include Black and Brown resident involvement to design program delivery to meet their needs. Our goal for the Diversity Equity & Inclusion plan is to ensure that at OPDC people feel heard, supported, and valued. We recognize that this anti-racism work requires a long term commitment to constant, ongoing reflection, learning, and evolution.

As a first step, the committee will convene roundtables and community listening sessions to get input from the community and express “We don’t know what we don’t know, we want to learn more, we want to know more.” We aim to cultivate new diverse board candidates and new members of committees within the organization. We also hope to identify concrete investments OPDC can make to support anti-racism work here in our community.

We welcome new voices to the table, and we will listen.  We need new voices to do our best work.

As the community development organization for Oakland, we are committed to listening to the community to learn how we can do more to help combat systems of oppression and inequality, and to dismantle structural racism. Our purpose is to lift the community voice, and to ensure everyone can be heard. We need to do better to fully realize that for all members of our community.

We invite you, the community, to reach out to us for any support you might need, or feedback you’d like to provide. Our contact email is questions@opdc.org.

As an organization committed to racial equity and social justice, we cannot stay silent about the arrest of the Black Lives Matter protester on Saturday August 15th by Pittsburgh Police. This arrest happened in our neighborhood, around the corner from our office at the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Bouquet Street. Although we would have concerns if this happened anywhere in the city, OPDC is compelled to speak up about injustices in our community.

We condemn the Police tactics in that incident and call for an immediate end to their use. We appreciate the response from Mayor Peduto formally banning jump-out arrests of protesters by non-uniformed officers in unmarked police cars and making changes to the Special Response Teams, and hope that these verbal commitments are reflected through action as well.

Black, Young and Educated are protesting peacefully for police accountability in an effort to make our city a safer place for Black people. Police actions against protesters highlight the need for this movement and a drastic change in policing in this country. We can only build a better Oakland if that Oakland is a safe place for everyone no matter their race.

Homeowners - we can help you with home repairs

Did you know that there are several programs available to help Oakland homeowners with home repairs? We can help you figure out the programs you may be eligible for and how to make these programs work best for you.

Through OPDC’s Facade Grant Program, Oakland homeowners may be eligible for a $5,000 reimbursement grant for exterior repairs to the front of your house. Senior Oakland homeowners can join the Oakland Community Land Trust and receive $22,500 for home repairs. If you live in West Oakland, you may be eligible for free home repairs through Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority offers a Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP), which provides up to $30,000 in interior or exterior home repairs, and a $10,000 grant for accessibility modifications, called the Home Accessibility Program for Independence (HAPI).

OPDC can help you complete the applications, work with you to combine programs to maximize improvements, and coordinate with contractors to manage repairs.

We’re currently working with a resident in South Oakland using the Homeowner Assistance Program to make structural repairs to her home and install new windows, combined with a façade grant to repaint the front of her home.

Another senior homeowner joining the Community Land Trust is using funds to renovate her bathroom and we are helping her find contractors to repair her front porch through a façade grant.

Contact Annemarie Malbon, Community Land Trust Manger, amalbon@opdc.org or (412) 621-7863 x14, to learn more about any of these programs.

All the best from our departing Assistant Director, Elly Fisher

After more than a decade serving as Assistant Director at OPDC, Elly Fisher is moving on to a new chapter in life. She reflects back on some of the highlights of her time spent in Oakland.

I’ve been at OPDC for 12 years, just about to the date. What a wonderful honor it has been to help grow this organization and neighborhood, and work with the neighbors, staff, and partner organizations.  My role as Assistant Director started out quite undefined which gave me the opportunity to dive into a number of challenges and opportunities.  

OPDC is 40 years old this year!  Our core values of connecting community members, and creating affordable housing and homeownership opportunity remain.  When I started, we did very little community organizing; under Wanda’s leadership we now have organizers working with community leaders, a community plan, a voice in development projects, and the Oakwatch code enforcement program. 

We have close relationships with our tenants and top-notch property management in-house.  This year we added supportive services to ensure that our tenants are connected to resources.  We’ve added two buildings with 54 units to the portfolio and renovated most units.  My favorite (and pet project), Oakland Affordable Living, is now stable and fully occupied.  To have completed a $16M Low Income Housing Tax Credit project as a mid-sized CDC is a feat and a great asset for the community. 

We’ve consistently worked to increase home ownership and keep subsidy dollars in the neighborhood.  At first we did this with a rent to own program; we then improved upon our strategy to build a Community Land Trust. I’m proud of our land trust model because it meets Oakland’s needs to maintain homeowners and the opportunity for existing homeowners join the trust.

It was fun to have played a part in building the Oakland 2025 Plan, the Oakland neighborhood partnership program, the Oakland landlord alliance, the Susan Hicks memorial bike lane, the Oakland Furniture sale (remember that?!), and so many other projects. There is always much to be done in Oakland, but we consistently demonstrate that we can all work together and hold each other accountable for the benefit of all the residents.  

It’s my sincere hope that my departure creates space for new voices and energy within the organization.  There are movements afoot for seriously evaluating how we engage with all residents and ensure that the organization reflects our diversity and inclusion values in all of our staff and activities.  These efforts in conjunction with our strong and effective programs will continue to build a better Oakland and help neighbors thrive.

I’ll miss working with you all and wish you the very best!

Elly Fisher